Political risk is considered the primary threat to multinational chemicals companies in emerging markets over the next five years, with other challenges, including competition from local companies, poor infrastructure, and the cost of an international supply chain, not far behind.

The report by Kelvin Inn, consulting director, Global Intelligence Alliance (GIA) Hong Kong, features interviews of 20 chemical industry executives, with additional data and insights from more than 400 companies compiled into the Business Perspectives for Emerging Markets 2012-2017 Report.

Emerging market revenue to double
Despite the political risk, the executives told GIA that they expect 38% of their global revenues to come from emerging markets by 2017 on average, up from 19% today. After the BRIC countries, the top emerging markets to target up to 2017 will be Indonesia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, and Vietnam.